Russia and Ukraine exchange 350 prisoners of war

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 175 prisoners of war from each side, according to the Russian army. This exchange took place just hours before a brief ceasefire for the Orthodox Easter.

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 350 prisoners of war on Saturday, 175 from each side, as announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense, just hours before the expected entry into force of a Easter truce.

On April 11, “175 Russian soldiers were repatriated from territory controlled by Kiev. In exchange, 175 prisoners of war from the Ukrainian armed forces were handed over,” indicated the Russian Ministry of Defense in a statement published on the MAX application.

Drone strikes in the night

Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone strikes from Friday night to Saturday, just hours before a short ceasefire for Orthodox Easter, announced by Vladimir Putin and accepted by his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.

However, the Ukrainian president warned on Saturday that Kiev would respond “blow for blow” to any violation of the ceasefire.

In Ukraine, targeted by at least 160 drones fired by Russia, four people died in strikes in the east and south of the country, according to Kiev. These attacks occurred while Russia and Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire for Orthodox Easter, from Saturday at 4:00 PM (3:00 PM French time) until Sunday evening, according to the Kremlin.